So here I am at episode 3, watching Full Metal Panic for the first time, and something random suddenly occurred to me. Mithril's arm-patches - the winged-sword design on them, reminded me for some reason of the logos that NATO's clandestine stay-behind organisations used during the Cold War. (they were also winged-swords in an assortment of positions, with different mottos depending on branch)

It may seem a bit insignificant, but I felt almost pleased to see that kind of inspiration and detail. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed that little throwback, so I'm just pointing it out for the sake of it.

And for those of you thinking, "What's Gladio?", I'll quote wiki:

"After World War II, the UK and the US decided to create "stay-behind" paramilitary organizations, with the official aim of countering a possible Soviet invasion through sabotage and guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines. Arms caches were hidden, escape routes prepared, and loyal members recruited: i.e. mainly hardline anticommunists, including many ex-Nazis or former fascists, whether in Italy or in other European countries."

"In Great Britain, Prime Minister Winston Churchill created the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in 1940 to assist resistance movements and carry out subversive operations in enemy held territory across occupied Europe. (...) After the end of World War II, the stay-behind armies were created with the experience and involvement of former SOE officers. Following Giulio Andreotti's October 1990 revelations, General Sir John Hackett (1910-1997), former commander-in-chief of the British Army on the Rhine, declared on November 16, 1990 that a contingency plan involving "stay behind and resistance in depth" was drawn up after the war. (...) Gladio membership included mostly ex-servicemen but also followers of Oswald Mosley's pre-war fascist movement. They were given a list of prominent suspected communist sympathizers, including politicians, journalists, trade union leaders, clergy and so on. The mission was, at the first sign of insurrection or invasion, to execute as many as these people as possible. At least one name on the execution list went on to become a Labour Prime Minister."

As I said, not exactly the same thing (obviously, since FMP's timeline is vastly different from our own), but the basic idea of both Mithril and Gladio being kindof 'mercenary' in nature, and carrying similar logos, is one of those subtle 'alternate timeline' kind of things that strikes me as being pretty awesome. :3

_________________"And I... should contemplate this change...To ease the pain.And I... should step out of the rain...And turn away..."